Cash deposit apparatuses are used for depositing cash such as coins, notes (bills), cheques or coupons. A cash deposit apparatus is typically a stand-alone apparatus which is used on a self-service basis by an arbitrary, untrained end-user visiting a public site such as a bank office, mall, shopping area, store, etc.
When using a typical cash deposit apparatus, the end-user will place his cash in a cash input area, whereby the cash deposit apparatus will discriminate between acceptable cash, such as valid coins in a plurality of different denominations in one or more specified currencies, and unacceptable cash, such as fake (counterfeit) coins or coins of a foreign currency. A coin acceptance module handles the discrimination of coins and acts to count the acceptable coins, and also to sort them provided that the coin acceptance module has sorting capabilities, whereas the unacceptable cash will be rejected. A value related to the acceptable cash as counted is determined, normally either as the total value of the counted cash, or the total value minus a certain commission fee or plus a certain bonus. The determined value may be a printed on a receipt or voucher which is dispensed to the end-user so as to allow later redemption of the value at a checkout counter, service desk, etc, or the value may be credited to a bank account or credit card belonging to the end-user. The deposited cash is stored inside the cash deposit apparatus for later collection by authorized personnel such as guards or personnel from a CIT (Cash-In-Transit) company.
A cash deposit apparatus usually has a user interface which the end-user of the apparatus will avail himself of when using the apparatus. The user interface typically includes a display and a set of operation keys, and, often, at least either a printer or a card reader. These elements of the user interface are controlled from a controller in the apparatus, such as a personal computer (PC) or another kind of microprocessor-based control system. The controller also controls the overall operation of the internal parts of the cash deposit apparatus.
Cash deposit apparatuses have been in commercial use since the late 1980's and have grown very popular. Nevertheless, the present inventors have identified certain areas in the field of cash deposit apparatuses that need improvement in order to meet future market demands and mitigate various technical shortcomings with existing cash deposit apparatuses, as will be explained in more detail throughout this document. Some of these areas are:
Configurability
Hitherto, when developing a new model of a cash deposit apparatus, the manufacturer of the apparatus has had to design the model more or less from scratch, or alternatively reuse an existing design which is limited to a certain configuration as regards physical cabinet (housing) dimensions, interface for service personnel access, interface for CIT personnel access, type and number of peripheral devices such as display, operation keys, keypad, printer or card reader, type of cash acceptance module (e.g. coin counter, coin sorter, note validator), etc. Therefore, the needs of potential customers of the new model (e.g. the site holders), as wells as end-users, service personnel and CIT personnel, cannot always be met in an efficient way.
Upgradeability
For a customer of a cash deposit apparatus, it is important to make the investment as future proof as possible. However, a cash deposit apparatus is typically operational for several years, and as time passes, it is far from certain that the specifications of the once purchased cash deposit apparatus meet the needs that may have developed for a long time after the purchase of the apparatus. Such changed needs may for instance imply that an originally purchased cash deposit apparatus, that contains a low-performance, counting-only coin acceptance module which once was deemed sufficient, is now insufficient for the current needs in terms of e.g. cash processing performance, sorting capability or ability to handle also other cash such as notes.
In the current state of the art, such needs will have to be met by drastically rebuilding the current apparatus, this may involve uninstalling the apparatus, possibly installing a temporary replacement apparatus, transporting the apparatus back to the factory and severely modifying it to meet the current needs, and then finally returning the thus rebuilt apparatus to its installation site and have it reinstalled. Clearly, this approach has severe penalties in terms of cost, time and effort.
Alternatively, such needs may be met by ordering and purchasing a new model and completely replacing the existing apparatus. However, in many situations this will be an excessive action, particularly if the existing apparatus only has grown insufficient in a particular aspect, such as cash processing performance, but is otherwise working well and meeting all other needs.
Reliability
Since the cash deposit apparatus is typically used “in the field” and on a self-service basis, it is a key factor in the technical field to maximize the mean time between failures (MTBF).
Serviceability
In addition, since the total cost of ownership is often more important to a customer of a cash deposit apparatus than the initial investment, it is desired to keep the mean time to repair (MTTR) as short as possible.
It is also important to provide for an efficient manner of upgrading the software in the cash deposit apparatus (e.g. for correcting bugs) and also updating the reference data which is used by the cash acceptance module when discriminating cash. Such reference data may for instance have to be updated to reflect the issuance of new coins or notes, or to improve the cash acceptance module's ability to catch new types of fake coins or notes that have recently started to circulate in a particular region or country.